Quirks
by Saltair
Summary: Donna reflects on the odder aspects of Harvey's personality that she has discovered over the years.


**So, I have no idea what brought this about. Well actually, that's a lie, because these two make me smile like nobody's business, and I guess since there's not nearly enough to read about them, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I had fun writing it, hope you have fun reading it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Suits. If I owned Suits, then Donna would get to steal twice as many scenes as she did in Season 1. ****That said, if the owners wish to steal that particular idea, I have no qualms. **

* * *

><p><strong>Quirks<br>**

Twelve years was plenty long enough to notice every little idiosyncrasy a man had – and boy, did Harvey Specter have enough of them to notice. Donna had a lovely little catalogue of them filed away in the recesses of her mind, more than enough to fill a book. A prime example of the Type A personality, Harvey was more than a little OCD when it came to certain small things, though he didn't understand why his quirks entertained her so. What was wrong with his prized basketball collection being kept in perfect alignment along the sill of his window? However, that was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg; even clients picked up on that one quickly.

It took time to delve into the weirder rituals that had taken up residence in Harvey's mind. Of course it was always amusing when he received chocolates with any sort of filling, because he had to eat the chocolate first, and then whatever filling it contained. It made little sense logically, as he made an absolute mess of himself doing it. One of the first times Donna met Harvey's mother, Mary admitted that she had enabled the habit: Harvey was allowed to eat the chocolate and **then** the filling as a child, but only in the bathtub where he couldn't touch her furniture with his sticky fingers. It apparently went on as such until he was six or so, and at that point he wouldn't eat chocolates any other way, even after he could keep his hands off the knick-knacks and was promoted from the bathtub. Consequently, Donna got quite the kick out of buying mini-Reese's cups and leaving them in a candy bowl on her desk, and well, that was one form of teasing Harvey didn't mind either.

As a New Yorker, it was understandable that his hot dogs had to have mustard and sauerkraut, but the precise one-to-one proportions he required were a bit much. Similarly, she was amused when he revealed that he always had to eat the food on his plate in the order from what he liked best to what he enjoyed least. That one she actually found to be quite handy, as whenever she cooked a meal for him she immediately knew what of it he enjoyed most without him even saying a word.

And then there were the big ones. The ones that he was certain would cause the world to come to a screeching halt if they were not obeyed. Their can-opener routine, for instance, was an absolute necessity because how would he be prepared to handle the courtroom without it? And if that was the added boost of confidence he needed to conquer the courtroom, then she was happy to provide it.

By far the most comical was his usage of microwaves. When he used the microwave in the partner's kitchen, he under no circumstances could leave its side. She hadn't picked up on it until one day when they were moving her into the new apartment she got a few years back. He offered to heat up one of those P.F. Chang's home meals for them, as both were too tired to go through the hassle of cooking, too icky to dine out, and too hungry to wait for delivery. She ended up dropping one of the plates she had been unpacking, and he was so distracted by her cursing that he came over to help her clean it up.

To this day, she still died of laughter at the memory of just how large his eyes got when he realized the dinner had nearly been in the microwave for its allotted time. He had scared the bejesus out of her, as she had no idea what the sudden problem was. Never in her life had she seen him run so quickly or let out such a sigh of relief as when he reached it before the timer went off. It was like that ding would have ended the world. Of course, now every time he used the microwave in the partner's kitchen she had to rib him and give him the silliest excuses as to why he needed to leave the microwave: Jessica was looking for him, there was a cat in his office, Spiderman just scaled their building. Harvey would inevitably be exasperated by her tactics, especially if Louis happened to be in the room and would look between the two trying to figure out the significance of Donna's teasing. They were too easy sometimes.

However, discovering Harvey's quirks was just half the fun of getting to know him. The best part of those discoveries was the greater understanding they provided of him as a whole. Donna had always been a people person, she loved to observe people, analyze their actions, make up stories as to how they became the person they were, why they behaved as they did. But it was a rare thing for her to allow herself to get close enough to someone to find out the truth behind those musings; whether it was because she didn't want to spoil her imaginings or due to her underlying trust issues, she wasn't sure. Ultimately, she supposed it was probably some combination of the two.

Regardless, she found the utmost satisfaction in finding the truth in Harvey Specter. Never one to disappoint, his actual story and its impact on his life and actions were much more fascinating than anything she could have dreamed up. And that was saying something. All the control he felt the need to have over a situation made perfect sense when she discovered what his early life had been like. A dad who turned alcoholic when he didn't live up to his family's expectations, who left his mom to fend for herself, a mom who in turn left him to fend for himself because she was so depressed by the loss of her husband. Living in near poverty for much of his adolescence, working his ass off to pull himself out of it – it was a wonder that Harvey had so many successes, when so many odds were against him.

After having so little control over his life for so long, it was little surprise that when he left his mother's house he wanted as much control as possible. Over his education, the opportunities that came his way, the jobs he found himself in, the structure of his days – and whether or not the microwave was allowed to _ding_. In his perfectionism he found control, because if he did his damndest then there was no way he wouldn't succeed. And she had to admit, when there were so many things that could never possibly be controlled in life – other peoples' actions, illness, loss – it didn't seem so irrational to grasp for whatever control one could. He had earned his right to that much, even if it made him a little quirky.

**A/N: I'm half considering continuing this, just because I feel like there's so much more here to be explored. One, I'd love to get into Harvey's analysis of Donna. Two, I'd probably enjoy putting together short shots that go into detail on some of these scenarios: Donna meeting Harvey's mom, ****them moving her into the apartment, etc. Let me know if that idea piques anyone's interest, in one of those lovely things called a review!**


End file.
